Dead Souls MC (Complete Series #1-5), page 21
Then I rushed to my car and popped the trunk.
I stuffed everything into the back of my compact car. It wasn’t much, but it was good on gas and had been a reliable source of transportation. I shoved myself behind the wheel of the car and cranked it up, then began riding off into the sunset.
Only it wasn’t the happy ending I was expecting.
When Monroe told me that by testifying that Rex killed Blaze, it would help keep the feds out of Redding. I figured the police would take him quietly and everything would be okay. I would testify, be kept safe, and Rex wouldn’t know what hit him until I took the stand. I could be rid of his bullshit and everyone else’s bullshit forever. I could live my life and live in my little house and be proud of what I had.
Now, all I had was my car and what I could shove into my bag earlier.
I followed my memory as best as I could. I drove out into the woods before taking one of the dirt offshoots. I got turned around three or four fucking times before I saw the lodge in the distance.
It was the only place I could think of to go.
Dust was kicking up behind my car as I parked. I tucked my keys in my pants and started running for the front door. It didn’t look like anyone was here except for one lone bike out front. I didn’t know whose it was and I didn’t even know if they were here, but I had to try.
And if no one was here, then I would sit on their damn porch until someone showed up.
I knocked steadily on the door, but I didn’t hear anyone answer. I leaned my forehead against the door, sighing to try and calm my nerves. My hands were shaking and my eyes were watering.
They had to know.
All of them did.
“Hello? Knox? Are you there?” I asked.
But still, I was met with silence.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket to try and call Monroe, but I couldn’t get a signal. Not one that would be strong enough to get a call out to anyone. I cursed to myself and shoved the phone back into my pocket as the sun slowly began to set beyond the horizon. It was getting chilly outside and I was beginning to shiver.
I knew someone was here. Maybe they didn’t hear me knock.
I fluttered my knuckles against the door, quicker and at a more rapid pace. I crossed my arms and rocked on my feet, trying to warm myself up. What the fuck? I knew someone was there. I could see the bike in the parking lot and if I wasn’t going completely insane, I could smell food.
Really good food, actually.
“Knox? Anyone? There’s a bike out. Please. I need to talk.”
I leaned my head against the door again and drew in a shaky breath. Shit. I was going to have to wait in my car for someone to come by. I turned my back towards the door and started down the steps, my entire body shivering as the temperature in the woods began to plummet.
Then, I heard it.
I heard the front door open.
I whipped around expecting to find Knox, but that wasn’t who I found. Instead, I found the massive slab of a man who had been flirting with me when I’d showed up a few days ago. Grave. Or something like that.
And I couldn't take my eyes off him.
He was standing in the doorway. So big he almost had to duck to keep from hitting his head on the top of it. He was wearing a black t-shirt that clung to every ripple of his body. The swell of his chest. The chiseled divots of his abs. His arms were threatening to rip the fucking sleeves of the shirt into tattered shreds. His biceps were throbbing and his piercing gray stare was hooked onto mine.
I felt overwhelmed by his presence.
“Everly? What are you doing here?”
His voice. I could never forget that voice. Like hot caramel dripping off a frozen slab of vanilla ice cream.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
He stepped onto the porch, his eyes looking me up and down as I stood on the steps.
“Rex has been arrested,” I said breathlessly. “And I think he knows I was the one that talked.”
3
Grave
The veins in my cock throbbed when I saw her standing outside. The backdrop of the sunset drenched her milky skin in a hue I’d never seen. The yellows streaking across the blue sky matched the sparkling colors of her eyes. Her long legs were bare except for the shorts she had on. If she bent over, I knew I’d get the perfect shot of the swell of her ass. Her blonde hair was whipping around her body, cascading down her arms and landing just beyond her tits. Those fabulous handfuls that would fill my palms and spill over through the crevices in my fingers.
Fuck, she was a beautiful woman.
But her words had me bristling.
“Come inside,” I said.
“Is Knox here?” she asked.
“No. But I’m here, and you’re safe.”
I stepped off to the side as she rushed up the steps. She brushed past me, and just that small feeling of heat as our bodies connected was enough to get me to clench my jaw. I watched her eye the kitchen table as I shut the door. I could practically see her salivating down her throat.
“Who cooked?” she asked.
“I did.”
“You cook?”
“I do.”
Her eyes whipped up to mine and her brow furrowed in confusion.
“What? Can’t a guy cook?” I asked.
“Just didn’t expect a man like you to cook. Sorry.”
“You hungry?”
And as if someone gave her body a cue, her stomach began to gurgle.
Everly began to giggle as I suppressed a grin on my cheeks. Fuck. Her entire face lit up when she smiled. Her teeth were bright and her full lower lip accented the beauty of her reddened cheeks. I bit down onto my lower lip to try and control the electrical surges throughout my body. I had to contain my urges. This was not the time nor the place to think about ripping her clothes off with my bare hands and pinning her to a wall.
“Sit. I’ll get you something to eat,” I said.
She went to sit at the table and I pulled another plate from the cabinet. I reached into the fridge and grabbed a beer, then made sure to pick her up a fork. I stabbed one of my halves of chicken breast and put it on a plate for her, then handed her the serving spoons for the rest of the food.
“This smells wonderful,” Everly said.
“Thanks. Just something quick I whipped up,” I said.
“Something quick? This doesn’t look quick.”
“It is if you’ve been doing it for a while.”
“I’ve been cooking for a while and I still can’t whip something up quick.”
“So, you cook, too?”
“When I need to, yeah. But I’d be lying if I said the pizza place down the road from my house didn’t know my order by heart,” she said with a grin.
My cock throbbed when our eyes connected.
“Eat as much as you want,” I said. “I can always cook more.”
“This is plenty. And unexpected. Thank you. I’m not-?”
My eyes connected with hers as she bit down onto her lower lip.
Oh, we were going to have issues if that was a habit of hers.
“You're not what?” I asked.
“You’re not still going to be hungry after if I eat, are you?” Everly asked.
“Why would you ask that?”
“Because you’re massive and obviously need the food more than I do.”
I allowed a grin to slide across my cheeks before I took my first bite of the night.
“I’ll live,” I said.
The two of us sat in silence as Everly picked at her food. She ate the toppings off the chicken and took a few bites of the mashed potatoes, but she was mostly pushing it around the plate. She hadn’t even opened her beer, much less taken a sip of it, and her eyes looked unfocused. Dazed. Far off in another world.
“What happened?” I asked.
I watched her jerk. Like she had forgotten I was there.
“I’m sorry. What was that?” Everly asked.
“What happened tonight? With your brother.”
“Shit. Yeah. Um… Grave. Right?”
“Mhm.”
“The police arrested him for Blaze’s murder tonight. Came through my front door and left the piece of wood lying on the floor in tatters.”
“Why do you think Rex knows it was you who talked?”
“Because he looked at me and said so. He said he knew that I was the one that must’ve talked and that he was coming for me,” she said. “Grave, the entire club knows where Rex and I live. The moment he tells them his theory, they’re going to come looking for me. I can’t stay there. I can’t go back there.”
She was shaking. Trembling in her seat as she set down her fork. She put her head in her hands and I studied her, trying to use a few of the tactics Diesel had taught us over the years. He was excellent at reading people. At deducing whether or not they were telling the truth. I watched goosebumps form on Everly’s arms and looked for other involuntary signs of fear.
And I found almost all of them somewhere on her form.
“Everly.”
“Yes?”
“Look at me.”
She lifted her beautiful eyes to my gaze as I held my hand out. She looked down at the offering and furrowed her brow, but she slid her hand into mine. It was tiny. Delicate. Her skin was warm and her touch was soft. Her hand just barely fit into the palm of mine, and I curled my fingers around the top of her hand. I stroked my thumb along her skin, taking in the way it reddened underneath my touch.
“You can’t go back there,” I said. “But you can stay with me.”
“What?”
“My role with this club is protector. I go on all the missions and I ride through town to check up on people this club cares about. You’re the safest with me. If you talk to Monroe, she’s going to tell you the same. She’s going to tell you that you can’t go back to your home until the trial. So, I’m bypassing all of that conversation and telling you that you can stay with me.”
“I can’t intrude on you like that,” she said.
“You can, and you will. You don’t have any other choice. You’re safe with me and I know you know that.”
I watched her face soften as she pulled her hand away from mine.
“I have a job.”
“You’ll still go to work,” I said.
“They know where I work.”
“Then I’ll follow you to work. Stick to the shadows and make sure no one rolls up on you,” I said.
“I do have paid vacation I could cash in.”
“That would be better if you do.”
“Six weeks of it.”
“Then now might be the time to take it.”
“My phone doesn’t have service out here.”
“You can use the lodge phone,” I said.
I pointed to it behind my head and she stood up to walk past me. Her hips swayed deeply and her curves were a distraction to my eyes. My hands were burning to touch her. To caress her and to kiss her fears away. I needed her to come with me. Something deep in the pit of my gut wasn’t allowing me to offer anything else. And there were other things. Her staying at the lodge. Her staying with Monroe. Her going into Witness Protection.
But none of that shit was happening.
She was coming with me.
I took another bite of my food as Everly talked on the phone to her boss. At least, I thought it was her boss. I really couldn’t be sure. If she was talking to her boss, she was being very bossy.
Commanding. Like she was really the one in charge.
“Okay. Thanks. Yep, all six weeks. Uh huh. Family emergency. That’s the reason. Thanks. I’ll see you then. Take care.”
She hung up the phone and brushed past me, her hips sliding against my upper arm. I suppressed a shiver as fire shot down to my toes.
It was going to take a lot to keep myself under control with her at my place.
“Everything good?” I asked.
“It is. Six weeks of paid vacation.”
“Sounds like a nice deal. What do you do for work?” I asked.
“I’m the General Manager for Tally’s Tavern.”
“The grocery store?” I asked.
“That’s the one.”
“Sounds like a decent gig.”
“Sure.”
I felt like there was more to the story, so I didn’t push it. I watched tears rise to Everly’s eyes before she shook her head and turned away. She brought another piece of asparagus to her mouth and chewed delicately. Like she was counting out how many bites she was taking.
I knew that trait.
Someone had beat that trait into her.
And it made my blood boil.
“I’m scared,” Everly said.
“I know,” I said.
“What if they find me?”
“Trust me. No one will find you at my place.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because my own club can hardly find me.”
I watched her brow furrow as she turned her watery gaze back to mine.
“Where do you live?” Everly asked.
“Deeper into the woods. There aren’t any roads that connect my place to anything else, so people never ride out there to look at anything.”
“You live in the woods.”
“It’s cozier than it sounds.”
“If there aren’t any roads, I won’t be able to get there,” she said.
“I’ve got my bike.”
“And I’ve got a duffel bag shoved full of stuff.”
“We can strap it to the back. I’ll drive slowly.”
“You seriously live in the woods?” she asked.
“I seriously do. And if you’re a fan of sun rises like I am, you’ll enjoy it.”
“I’m more of a sunset gal,” she said.
I took a bite of my chicken and began to chew it as I looked up at her. She seemed to be relaxing a bit, though I could tell she was still on her guard. Her hands were still trembling while she ate. Her veins coursing with fear. I could practically smell it on her. The fear dripping from her skin.
I was going to crush anyone that came after her.
“Even better,” I said. “Because I have a very cozy porch.”
Everly smiled at me before she continued to eat. I took my empty plate to the sink, then slid down the hallway and pulled my phone from my pocket. The guys needed to know what the hell was going on. I didn't want them to be blindsided with something like this.
“Grave! Tell me you changed your mind about drinking,” Diesel said. “It’s a good night tonight.”
“Everly came knocking on the lodge door about an hour ago,” I said.
I could hear shuffling around and Diesel ordering people to get out of his way. The commotion from the bar fell into the background and I heard a door slam over the phone. The click of a button told me I was on speakerphone, then Knox’s voice wafted over my ear.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Rex was arrested today in their home for Blaze’s murder,” I said.
“Everly come to tell us that or some-... wait. She lives with her brother?”
“Yep. And when he was being hauled off, he kept yelling at her that he knew it was her and that he was coming for her.”
“Shit. I gotta tell Monroe,” he said.
“She came to the lodge and she was really shaken up. Got some food in her and calmed her down a bit, but she’s still worried. I offered to have her stay at my place.”
“That’s good,” Diesel said. “No one will ever find her out there with you.”
“I figured. She’s taken a few weeks off work. She’s scared the Black Saddles will come after he while she’s there.”
“Does they know where her and Rex live?” Rock asked.
“Yep. She’s apparently got some bag packed with her shit in the trunk of her car,” I said.
“Was she followed?” Mick asked.
“Nope. No one’s rolled up on us or anything,” I said.
“I think her best bet is to stay with you,” Mick said.
“I agree,” Diesel said. “When are you taking her there?”
“Once she’s done eating,” I said.
“Good. Let me know when you guys get there safely. We have to play this under the radar,” Diesel said.
“You got enough groceries for two people?” Rock asked.
“No. I’ll need more supplies,” I said.
“Don’t risk going into town. I’ll pick shit up in the morning and bring it to the lodge. You can meet me there to get it and take it back,” Rock said.
“Brewer there?” I asked.
“Right here. Little drunk, though,” he said.
“I wanna know what the local police know about Everly, if anything. I wanna know if there’s information Rex’s club can get their hands on if they have established connections in the department,” I said.
“I’ll get on it first thing in the morning,” Brewer said.
“You need anything else?” Diesel asked.
“Nope. That's it for now. But I’m going to get off here and get Everly back to my place,” I said.
“Let us know when you get there,” Knox said.
“Will do.”
I hung up the phone and went out to find Everly cleaning up the table. She was standing at the sink, rinsing dishes off into some soapy water. She had suds all the way up to her elbows and there was a trail of sweat trickling down the side of her face.
I bet she would look beautiful pressed against the wall of a shower.
“Just cleaning up. You know, since you cooked,” Everly said.
“No problem. We’ll head out once you’re done,” I said.
I looked over at the table and found her beer still unopened.
“Not a beer drinker?” I asked.
“Not a drinker at all,” she said.
“Wish you would’ve said something. There were sodas and water in the fridge, too.”
“It’s fine. I wasn’t thirsty.”
“Mind if I ask why you’re not a drinker?”
I watched her eyes grow cold and distant as she stuck the last of the dishes into the sink.
“Just not,” she said flatly.
And again, I decided not to press the topic.
4
